On this Day in Sports History August 16

On this day in 1948, Babe Ruth passed away from throat cancer at Memorial Hospital in New York City.

On this day in 1961, Roger Maris slugged two home runs off of Billy Pierce, giving the outfielder 48 home runs on the season. It’s the sixth straight game that Maris has homered in and he was just 12 home runs away from tying Babe Ruth’s single season record.

On this day in 2001, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants set a franchise record for single-season home runs when he slugged his 53rd of the season. The previous record holder was his godfather, Willie Mays.

On this day in 2007, New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes recorded his 60th stolen base of the season, becoming just the 10th player to steal 60 bases in three straight seasons.

Golf

On this day in 1992, Nick Price won the PGA

On this day in 1998, Vijay Singh won the PGA Championship at the Sahalee Country Club.

On this day in 2009, Yang Youn-eun won the PGA Championship at the Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Miscellaneous

On this day in 1954, Sports Illustrated was published for the first time.